Michigan State UniversityMichigan State UniversityCloseMenu buttonMenu and Search buttonOpenCloseNewsVideoEventsresourcesnewsletterExpertsProgramsYouTubeFacebookTwitterGoogle PlusAsk an ExpertSee how spartans make a difference in Michigan. MI Spartan Impact

Planning on how to handle animal mortalities following a farm emergency can prevent some stress later.

The Michigan
Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) provides rules and
guidelines for dealing with mortalities through The
Bodies of Dead Animals Act. In situations when a catastrophic event such as
a fire, natural disaster or disease causes mortalities, the director of MDARD
must be notified immediately to avoid being penalized. Once the MDARD director
is notified, they will be able to grant you an exception to the rules due to
the circumstances.

In some areas of the state, dead animals can be affordably
rendered or sent to a landfill by a facility licensed by the Department of Environmental Quality
(DEQ). If animals will be handled on site, then composting, burning, burying in
individual and common graves and anaerobic digestion are allowed within the
law. Determining what is best for your situation will depend on how many
animals need to be disposed of, the cause of death, existing facilities, if
odor or flies would impact the neighbors and if the leachate could reach
surface or ground water. In general, all dead animals must be disposed of
within 24 hours after death.

If composting dead animals, make sure that it is at least
200 feet from surface water, 2 feet above the seasonal high water level, 200
feet from a well, 200 feet from a non-farm residence and surface water runoff
is directed away from the site. In normal situations, if there is more than
20,000 pounds of animal mortality per year (13 mature cows) then the pile must
be located on an improved surface such as concrete, asphalt or compacted gravel
or use an in-vessel system. In addition, effluent and runoff must be
reintroduced into pile, collected and stored or treated.

If there is less than 20,000 pounds of animal mortality per
year, then the pile can be located on crop land provided that it only contains
one year’s mortalities, the pile is removed after two years and the site is not
used again for ten years.

In situations with high mortality events, the director of
MDARD can determine the appropriate type of surface. The chosen site should not
be located above tile or subsurface drains and runoff cannot pool around the
compost pile or reach surface water.

When burying dead animals, select low permeability soils
with slow natural drainage and more than 14 feet to the water table to minimize
risk of contamination. Burial sites must have no contact with surface or ground
water, be at least 200 feet from wells and have at least two feet of cover
below the surface. Up to 100 individual graves per acre are allowed but no more
than five tons per acre. Multiple animals can be buried in one grave provided
the common grave has no more than two and a half tons of tissue (about three
mature cows) and is located at least 100 feet away from other graves. However,
unless an exception is granted from the director of MDARD the limit is still five
tons per acre.

Burning dead animals is permitted providing the burning does
not cause a public nuisance and is in accordance with local ordinances and the Michigan
Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act. An air use permit from the
DEQ may be required. Residues from burning must be buried, land-applied at
agronomic rates or properly disposed of in a landfill licensed by the DEQ.

In normal situations, if animals cannot be properly disposed
of within 24 hours, temporary cold storage is permitted for up to seven days in
a secured storage with a maximum temperature of 40 degree F. Alternatively, animals can be frozen and securely
stored at nine degrees F for
a maximum of 30 days. At the end of the storage period, animals must be
disposed of by an approved method. In emergency situations, the director of
MDARD may grant more time, especially if the insurance company requests time to
investigate the cause and values.

Devising a plan for which type of disposal system works best
on your farm following a disaster can help to make the decision process easier
and quicker. The impacts on the environment must be considered. Standard
Operating Procedures for Michigan
Mass Carcass Disposal including a decision tree on how disposal options following
a natural disaster, toxic contamination and disease.

February 23, 2016 | Tim Harrigan | Effective agricultural and urban management practices to protect water quality require an understanding of how and when nutrients move across the landscape, and which management practices are most likely to be successful in preventing nutrient loss.

January 25, 2016 | Charles Gould | Participants will learn how to identify the technology suitable to meet energy management goals on their farm, and how to obtain the resources and tools necessary to implement these technologies.